NEMA Annual Conference 99th Annual NEMA Conference | Page 8

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Facilitator: Kelsey McNiff, Associate Professor of
English/Composition, Endicott College, MA
Speakers: Elizabeth Matelski, Assistant Professor of
History, Endicott College, MA; Rebecca Summerhays,
Preceptor, Harvard College Writing Program, MA
Facts are Still Facts: Challenging Your
Visitors to Ask the Hard Questions
and Interpret the Hard Answers
A roundtable discussion on best practices
and preparing visitors to think critically about media
and exhibits, this session will encourage you to discuss
your approach to the problem. The roundtable will
include an activity presenting a variety of content,
which the group will be encouraged to assess based on
the previously established benchmarks.
Facilitator: Matt Wilding, Education Producer, Edward
M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, MA
Interpreting Black History in White
Communities
Beneath the surface of many of New
England’s predominantly white communities lies
a rich Black history that was forgotten or even
purposely obscured. Two museum professionals,
one Black and one White, both working for small
museums, will share the successes and challenges
they faced in recent efforts to document and share
their communities’ histories of slavery and freedom.
Both women will also comment on the struggles and
strategies for diversifying audiences in seemingly
homogenous spaces. 
Facilitators: Elon Cook, Program Director & Curator,
Center for Reconciliation, RI and Humanities
Consultant, Robbins House, MA; Marjory O’Too